I though the idea of XC was to travel. If you aren't going cross country
you aren't doing cross country. I figured if you can't take a golf cart,
truck or some vehicle, you could walk it. (no it would not be easy).
I guess instead of XC you could call it an "option" to an XC task. Like
slope is to thermal now. To stay in one place is more like a thermal task.
Any way you want to propose it is okay with me. I'll still participate.
Tom
----- Original Message -----
From: "dharban" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <soaring@airage.com>
Sent: Wednesday, September 13, 2006 10:04 AM
Subject: [RCSE] Re: LSF Discussion
Tom Broeski Wrote:
As you say, laws have changed making it difficult for many to do the
cross
country Legally. Can't have LSF promoting illegal activity. However,
I
think the requirement should include that you must also "travel" the
closed
course. That means in a vehicle or on foot. You cannot just stand in
one
place. That would mean traveling your field boundaries if the course
exceeded your field size. Or if on the road, the full course. I can't
find
anywhere here to do the 10 K in a straight out and back (or even a
crooked
one), but can find numerous areas where a large lap could be done of
four
2.5 K runs.
It is not entirely clear to me that the benefits of being required to
"travel" a closed course outweigh the possible unintenced
consequences.
As it stands now, the accepted practice for the Level IV and Level V
Goal and Return usually (but not always) involves the use of a vehicle
with a driver and a spotter -- presumably your two witnesses. This
requires the aspirant to arrange for transportation, arrange for a
driver and a spotter and to determine a course -- these are the
logistics of the task. The aspirant is not required to walk the
course, rather he remains in more or less a fixed relationship with the
plane he is flying regardless of the length of the task. This
relationship is more or less consistent with the relationship the he
would have in the proposed alternative. The proposed alternative
requires the aspirant to arrange a "gate" or equivalent system to
ensure that the flight is measured properly and to arrange for people
to man the gates (again presumably his witnesses) -- these are the
logistics of the revised task.
You are suggesting that in order to complete the goal and return task
that the aspirant and a spotter walk the entire distance. This adds a
degree of physical exertion which is not present in any other soaring
endeavor -- not just LSF. Perhaps its your intent to include this as a
barrier to separate the sheep from the goats. Respectfully, I am an old
goat and adding a 12 mile hike to this task is problematic-- especially
in the middle of the kind of hot day when success at this task is most
likely (our hot days are 100 degrees+ and humid). Further, not
everyone flies on a sod farm like I do. Walking even two-and-a-half
miles in a wild field while trying to keep your plane in sight is more
of an acrobatic feat than an aeronautical feat. Remember, the median
age in our sport is 55+ and if you've ever looked at a pictures from
current sailplane events there are quite a few guys who look like the
only push-ups they do are pushing away from the dinner table. (perhaps
we could add an overall task alternative which posthumously awards the
aspirant's last level in the event that he dies trying :)
Don
--
dharban
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